


Hold On

by easternCriminal



Series: Heart and Soul [4]
Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Drabbley, Gen, Oneshot, daemon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 09:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easternCriminal/pseuds/easternCriminal
Summary: The first thing Peter does after hitting the concrete is frantically check the pockets of his suit. He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening but if he had to go through it without Star… there she was, curled up in one the small pockets he had made for her, heartbeat rapid and breaths quick but safeA rewrite of Peter's opening scenes for the daemon au





	Hold On

The first thing Peter does after hitting the concrete is frantically check the pockets of his suit. He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening but if he had to go through it without Star… there she was, curled up in one the small pockets he had made for her, heartbeat rapid and breaths quick but safe. That had been one of the more… unusual outcomes from being bit by a radioactive spider. It’s not that his connection with Starestros had been severed or anything, just that it could stretch farther, farther than pretty much anyone he’d ever seen. They’d never really tested the length it could stretch, and he wasn’t too fond of seeing if it could last between home and… wherever it was he had ended up. Spidey senses were abounding and letting him know with perfect certainty that-

“It looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Star inserted and she made her way onto his shoulder, looking out with wide eyes at the New York that spread before them. Same layout but different logos. At least New York is New York and no one really seemed to take notice of a beat up guy with a half worn away Spiderman suit. In fact everyone was looking up at one of the big screens… He gasped in unison with Star.

There, on the big screen, was his face. Well… not exactly. It was at least a decade younger, and blonde with blue eyes. On the bottom of the screen were the damning words - Peter Parker. Spiderman. Dead. Next to his face was the picture of an elegant and sleek looking Ferret. Starestros, the caption said. Peter reached up to hold his daemon, almost as if he needed to confirm that she was there.

Peter had never been self conscious about how Star had settled. In many ways having a field mouse daemon had its perks. For most missions he could keep her on his person. She was small enough to accompany him anywhere and tuck into his sleeve if he needed to hide her. The small skittish nature of a field mouse matched his quick and playful fighting style and MJ had always said she couldn’t imagine Star settling as anything else. But looking up at this Peter, with his perfect smile. With all the people of New York mourning him, mourning  _ Peter Parker,  _ he was suddenly ashamed. And then he felt ashamed for feeling ashamed. He can’t help but to wonder if Star was embarrassed by him, that she had to come from him instead of from this perfect Peter…

“Hey,” She reached up and tugged on his ear lobe. “...let’s go find you some clothes.” 

 

oOo

 

Eventually they manage to find a clothing donation bin and Peter helped himself to the contents. There’s a green jacket with a perfect breast pocket that Star makes herself at home in and a comfortable pair of sweatpants. Now if only people would donate two of the same shoe… he goes mismatched because he’s working with what he’s got here, now isn’t the time to be picky. He’s an orphan, technically homeless, and his atoms seem to be forcing him out of the dimension by sheer power of will. He’s not going to get too hung up on whether he has the right shoes or not. It doesn’t stop Star from mocking them though. 

They attend their own public funeral, and Petes stares at MJ and Hjerta. They’re right there. He has half a mind to just swing down to them. To whisk MJ off her feet and… Star nips at his hand to stop him from doing anything rash. Hjerta is the same in this universe, a fox, and for a second he swears that Hjerta looks right at them from their vantage point on one of the rooftops. But he obviously doesn’t say anything to MJ about it, so Peter has to chalk it up to coincidence. Standing just a little behind her is Aunt May and Phayfelheit, and doesn’t that just bring on a whole new kind of hurt. He’d been keeping Phayfelheit’s Dust in a jar back at his apartment, and suddenly he can’t remember if it had been safe and secured when he had been transported to this dimension. The thought of the Dust lying unceremoniously on his floor, exposed to the elements or to be blown away by a wayward breeze or the air conditioner sends a trill of panic up his spine. 

“It’s fine Peter. Stay in the moment.” Star gently reminds and helps him to turn away from the scene. They’re not really sure where to go from here, but they’ll figure it out. They always do. The only place he can think of to go is to visit Uncle Ben’s grave. Talk to him. Or pretend to talk to him.  Of course back in his universe this was a Jewish graveyard, not a Christian one. 

Talking to Uncle Ben’s grave. was a tactic he had used to use a lot, to help him sort out his thoughts. Maybe it was because that was when he had settled, at the funeral. Immediately after Uncle Ben’s death, Starestros hadn’t kept a form for more than an hour before changing into something else. Constantly she was turning into a German Shepherd, as if that would bring Ben and Ofreleif back. It was when they lowered his casket into the ground, Uncle Ben’s words of “With great power comes great responsibility” echoing through his head, that the churning in his chest finally subsided and Star sat on his shoulder, settled.

“How can everything be so similar here and yet be so different?” Star asked as she hopped down to get a good look at the gravestone. So Ofreleif had been a German Shepherd here as well. “What do you think he would tell us to do?” 

“I think he would tell us... “ Peter’s gaze wandered to the other side of the cemetery, to a gravestone with hundreds of little gifts on it. “Hold on one sec Star, lemme check this out.” He was almost positive it was his grave - where else would they put it except by Ben’s grave? There was somebody already at it, and as he looked at the boy he could feel his senses flare up. Not in a bad way, like when they told him of imminent danger, more like it was trying to tell him…

“Hey, kid-”

 

oOo

 

     When he comes to, Peter has the vague recollection of being dragged around Brooklyn, flying through air, and his arms are still tingling in a way that he’s usually associates with electrical shocks. He cracks his eyes open to the small room. A quick assessment informs him that he is fine, bound to something… definitely something hanging from a something. Just judging by the feel, it’s probably a punching bag and… oh… Star wasn’t with him. She must have been left behind at the cemetery. He took a quick second to feel around with his senses - she was a good distance away but getting closer all the time. He trusted her ability to get to him and find him, and since their bond could stretch so far there was little to worry about.

With his head feeling like it’s full of cotton balls, he groggily looked up at the kid in front him. They’re dressed in a Spiderman suit, one of the cheap ones that you get on the corner store. At least he’s smart enough to wear the mask. The feeling that had been bubbling up in the back of his head comes to a apex as he stares of the kid, and a feeling of calm and familiarity spreads through him.

“You’re like me.” The words tumble out, and judging by how the kid stiffens slightly he knows it must be true. He’s really not in the mood for another groundbreaking event, but here it stands in front of him. 

“I got some questions.” His voice is gruffer than Peter was expecting. Maybe he isn’t a kid, just a really short adult.

“And you’re going to listen.” A lithe doberman barked, making itself known. Quite the intimidating Daemon then. Peter stared for a moment and then immediately twisted around and tried to flex himself out of his restraints. Huh, no dice, but now he was definitely swinging around so that was something he was going to have to deal with. He stretched his feet as far as they would go until they touched the ground and turned himself back to his captor.

“Why do you look like Peter Parker?”

“I am Peter Parker.” His captor is definitely a kid - that’s definitely a fake deep voice. It reminded him of when he first started the gig.

“Then why aren’t you dead? Why is your hair different? Why are you older? Why are you… a different shape-”

“Pretty sure you just called me fat.”

“-and where’s your Daemon? The ferret?” Peter groaned and began to get to work on the ties.

“First of all, she’s not a ferret. And pretty sure I’m not your Spiderman.” That’s right, keep him talking. Peter twisted himself around a bit more. 

“A weasel then?” The kid questioned before the doberman lightly nudged his arm. “Right, not important.” 

“What are you?” The daemon asked, a light growl rising in the back of their throat. “A ghost?”

“A zombie?” 

“From another dimension?”

“Like a parallel universe where things are like this universe but different? And you're Spider-Man in that universe? But somehow traveled to this universe, but you don’t know how?” The boy finished, and Peter let out a low whistle.

“And that was just a guess? Also that was a cute thing you guys just did there, very adorable.”

“This is great, you can teach me just like my Peter said he would!” The kid exclaimed excitedly and the doberman’s tail began to wag.

“Mhm, mhm, yeah… no. I’m not here for babysitting duty.” 

“But you have to help us.” The doberman exclaimed, letting out a whine. 

“Look, we made a promise to Peter.” He felt a little sad for the kid - he could still remember what it was like when he first got bit by his spider. The panic. The questions. Not knowing where he’s going or what he’s supposed to be doing or how is he supposed to do this on his own. But he figured it out. This kid will too. 

“Here’s your first lesson. Don’t watch the mouth kid - watch the hands.” Peter flashed smile and jazz hands at the kid before knocking him over with the punching bag (he had been right). 

“Hey!” The daemon shouted, and changed into a hissing cat. Unsettled then, interesting. 

“Look kid, this will all help you to become a better Spiderman.” He opened the window and crouched on the sill for a moment, re-adjusting his web slinging gear.

“Peter, wait-”

“Don’t you walk out on us like this!” The cat ferally spat. Peter rolled his eyes as a familiar safe feeling bloomed in his chest.

“I missed all the fun?” Starestros asked as she climbed up his shoulder. 

“Consider yourself lucky.” He muttered to her, watching as the kid’s eyes traced over Star. Obviously not the ferret he had been expecting. “See you around kid.” He started to swing to the other house before his entire being glitched out, causing him to fall onto the fire escape below, holding himself and waiting for it to pass. 

“I think we might need his help.” Star muttered into his ear. “Or he needs ours. Or both.” Peter grimaced and dusted himself off, pretending he didn’t hear her. This was going to be a whole headache for him, wasn’t it?

**Author's Note:**

> Peter - Starestros - Field Mouse  
> MJ - Hjerta - Fox  
> Aunt May - Phayfelheit - Badger  
> Uncle Ben - Ofreleif - German Shepherd  
> Miles - Anavaino - unsettled
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! Have a great day and happy new year!


End file.
